1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to oil spouts, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved flexible oil spout with a butterfly flow control valve. Motor oil is currently marketed in an increasingly popular blow molded plastic bottle with a reclosable threaded cap. These plastic bottles have an opening with a 28 millimeter externally threaded neck portion. This plastic bottle is not dimensioned to allow oil to be easily poured without spillage into a variety of different oil fill apertures in internal combustion engines. In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides an elongated flexible spout which has one end portion provided with 28 millimeter internal threads for cooperation with the external threads of the oil bottle. Additionally, in order to allow the oil flow through the spout to be precisely regulated, the present invention provides a butterfly valve. An additional problem presented by the prior art is the draining of oil from small internal combustion engines such as lawn mowers, without creating messy oil spills. In order to overcome this problem, the present invention provides an adaptor having one end provided with external 17 millimeter threads for engagement with internal threads of an oil drain aperture in an engine block and an opposite end provided with 28 millimeter external threads for engagement with the internal threads of the elongated flexible oil spout. A butterfly valve is provided between these threaded portions for controlling the oil flow from the engine block. Thus, the present invention provides an oil spout system which allows oil to be drained from small internal combustion engines such as those typically utilized on lawn mowers, without creating messy oil spills.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of oil spouts are known in the prior art. A typical example of such an oil spout is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,027, which issued to W. Maynard on Jan. 17, 1984. This patent discloses an elongated flexible pouring spout for liquid containers adapted to reach fill points without employing a funnel. The spout, when inverted, stores within the liquid container and is effectively sealed with the container neck in both the pouring and stored positions. A single threaded cover cap can engage threads on either ends of the pouring spout to prevent leakage. U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,668, which issued to W. Maynard on Apr. 22, 1986, discloses a threaded elongated flexible pouring spout which is detachably connectable with the threaded outlets of variously sized liquid containers by means of a multi-threaded adaptor having threaded sleeve portions of different diameters, one of which at each end of the adaptor is engagable with the threads of the flexible spout. A threaded extension cap for the flexible spout enables the servicing of small openings requiring liquids. The extension cap can also be threadedly engaged with the outlets of certain liquid containers. The device is specifically adapted for use with plastic blow molded bottles of the type utilized for storing and dispensing motor oil, anti-freeze, transmission fluid and other automotive fluids.
While the above mentioned devices are suited for their intended usage, none of these devices provide an elongated flexible pouring spout which utilizes a butterfly valve for controlling fluid flow through the spout. An additional feature of the present invention, not disclosed by the aforesaid prior art devices, is the use of an adaptor provided with different externally threaded ends for engagement with an oil drain aperture of an internal combustion engine and a threaded end portion of an elongated flexible pouring spout in conjunction with a butterfly valve for draining oil from an internal combustion engine in a controlled manner without spillage. Inasmuch as the art is relatively crowded with respect to these various types of oil spouts, it can be appreciated that there is a continuing need for and interest in improvements to such oil spouts, and in this respect, the present invention addresses this need and interest.